[publius911]

If that map is anywhere near accurate, the plane would have just recently reached cruising altitude when contact was lost.

Here is the problem. "Just recently" up to now is in the mind of the speaker.
Looking at the data from previous identical flights determines that "cruising altitude" was established anywhere between 18 and 22 minutes into the flight.

That is significantly inconsistent with the often reported "fact" that the flight was "about 2 hours" into its journey when contact was lost.

[SaxxonWoods]

The flight was declared missing 2 hours after takeoff.

Radar contact was lost about 40 minutes after takeoff according to flight data available on the net.

[skeeter]

If the aircraft was two hours into its flight that would put it well out over the South China Sea. According to this article it was last heard over the Gulf od Thailand.

Weird.